________________________________________ President of the SenatePassed by the House March 11, 2008 YEAS 95 &nbspNAYS 0

________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives

CERTIFICATE

I, Thomas Hoemann, Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 6438 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth.

________________________________________ Secretary

Approved

________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington

AN ACT Relating to a statewide high-speed internet deployment and
adoption initiative; adding new sections to chapter 43.105 RCW; adding
a new chapter to Title 28B RCW; and creating new sections.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.Sec. 1 (1) The legislature finds and declares the
following: (a) The deployment and adoption of high-speed internet services and
information technology has resulted in enhanced economic development
and public safety for the state's communities, improved health care and
educational opportunities, and a better quality of life for the state's
residents; (b) Continued progress in the deployment and adoption of high-speed
internet services and other advanced telecommunications services, both
land-based and wireless, is vital to ensuring Washington remains
competitive and continues to create business and job growth; and (c) That the state must encourage and support strategic
partnerships of public, private, nonprofit, and community-based sectors
in the continued growth and development of high-speed internet services
and information technology for state residents and businesses. (2) Therefore, in order to begin advancing the state towards
further growth and development of high-speed internet in the state, and
to ensure a better quality of life for all state residents, it is the
legislature's intent to conduct a statewide needs assessment of
broadband internet resources through an open dialogue with all
interested parties, including providers, unions, businesses, community
organizations, local governments, and state agencies. The legislature
intends to use this needs assessment in guiding future plans on how to
ensure that every resident in Washington state may gain access to
high-speed internet services and, as part of this effort, to address
digital literacy and technology training needs of low-income and
technology underserved residents of the state through state support of
community technology programs.

NEW SECTION.Sec. 2 (1) After the broadband study authorized by
the legislature in 2007 has been completed, or by July 15, 2008, the
department of information services, in coordination with the department
of community, trade, and economic development and the utilities and
transportation commission, shall convene a work group to develop a
high-speed internet deployment and adoption strategy for the state. (2) The department of information services shall invite
representatives from the following organizations to participate in the
work group: (a) Representatives of public, private, and nonprofit agencies and
organizations representing economic development, local community
development, local government, community planning, technology planning,
education, and health care; (b) Representatives of telecommunications providers, technology
companies, telecommunications unions, public utilities, and relevant
private sector entities; (c) Representatives of community-based organizations; and (d) Representatives of other relevant entities as the department of
information services may deem appropriate. (3) The department of information services shall, in consultation
with the work group, develop a high-speed internet deployment and
adoption strategy to accomplish the following objectives: (a) Create and regularly update a detailed, geographic information
system map at the census block level of the high-speed internet
services and other relevant telecommunications and information
technology services owned or leased by public entities in the state
with instructions on how proprietary and competitively sensitive data
will be handled, stored, and used. Development of this geographic
information system map may include collaboration with students and
faculty at community colleges and universities in the state. The
statewide inventory must, at a minimum, detail: (i) The physical location of all high-speed internet infrastructure
owned or leased by public entities; (ii) The amount of excess capacity available; and (iii) Whether the high-speed internet infrastructure is active or
inactive; (b) Work collaboratively with telecommunications providers and
internet service providers to assess, create, and regularly update a
geographic information system map at the census block level of the
privately owned high-speed internet infrastructure in the state, with
instructions on how proprietary and competitively sensitive data will
be handled, stored, and used; (c) Combine the geographic information system map of high-speed
internet infrastructure owned by public entities with the geographic
information system map of high-speed internet infrastructure owned by
private entities to create and regularly update a statewide inventory
of all high-speed internet infrastructure in the state; (d) Use the geographic information system map of all high-speed
internet infrastructure in the state, both public and privately owned
or leased, to identify and regularly update the geographic gaps in
high-speed internet service, including an assessment of the population
located in each of the geographic gaps; (e) Spur the development of high-speed internet resources in the
state, which may include, but is not limited to, soliciting funding in
the form of grants or donations; establishing technology literacy
programs in conjunction with institutions of higher education;
establishing low-cost hardware and software purchasing programs; and
developing loan programs targeting small businesses or businesses
located in underserved areas; (f) Track statewide residential and business adoption of high-speed
internet, computers, and related information technology, including an
identification of barriers to adoption; (g) Build and facilitate local technology planning teams and
partnerships with members representing cross-sections of the community,
which may include participation from the following organizations:
Representatives of business, telecommunications unions, K-12 education,
community colleges, local economic development organizations, health
care, libraries, universities, community-based organizations, local
governments, tourism, parks and recreation, and agriculture; (h) Use the local technology planning teams and partnerships to: (i) Conduct a needs assessment; and (ii) Work collaboratively with high-speed internet providers and
technology companies across the state to encourage deployment and use,
especially in unserved areas, through use of local demand aggregation,
mapping analysis, and creation of market intelligence to improve the
investment rationale and business case; and (i) Work with Washington State University extension pursuant to
section 6 of this act to establish low-cost programs to improve
computer ownership, technology literacy, and high-speed internet access
for disenfranchised or unserved populations across the state. (4) By September 1, 2008, the department of information services
shall provide a status update to the telecommunications committees in
the house of representatives and the senate, outlining the progress
made to date by the work group and the issues remaining to be
considered. (5) By December 1, 2008, the department of information services
shall complete the high-speed internet deployment and adoption strategy
and provide a report to the fiscal and telecommunications committees in
the house of representatives and the senate, the governor, and the
office of financial management. The main objective of the report is to
outline, based on the efforts of the work group, what legislation is
needed in order to implement the high-speed internet deployment and
adoption strategy, including a range of potential funding requests to
accompany the legislation. Specifically, the report shall include the
following: (a) Benchmarks, performance measures, milestones, deliverables,
timelines, and such other indicators of performance and progress as are
necessary to guide development and implementation of the high-speed
internet deployment and adoption strategy, both short term and long
term, including an assessment of the amount of funding needed to
accomplish a baseline assessment of the high-speed internet
infrastructure owned by public and private entities of the state in an
eighteen-month period; and (b) Ways to structure and appropriately scale and phase development
and implementation of the high-speed internet deployment and adoption
strategy so as to link to, leverage, and otherwise synchronize with
other relevant and related funding, technology, capital initiatives,
investments, and opportunities.

NEW SECTION.Sec. 3 A new section is added to chapter 43.105 RCW
to read as follows: (1) For purposes of compliance with section 2 of this act or any
subsequent high-speed internet deployment and adoption initiative, the
department of information services, the department of community, trade,
and economic development, the utilities and transportation commission,
and any other government agent or agency shall not gather or request
any information related to high-speed internet infrastructure or
service from providers of telecommunications or high-speed internet
services that is classified by the provider as proprietary or
competitively sensitive. (2) Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the
authority of a state agency or local government to gather or request
information from providers of telecommunications or high-speed internet
services for other purposes pursuant to its statutory authority.

NEW SECTION.Sec. 4 Nothing in this act may be construed as
giving the department of information services or any other entities any
additional authority, regulatory or otherwise, over providers of
telecommunications and information technology.

NEW SECTION.Sec. 5 A new section is added to chapter 43.105 RCW
to read as follows: (1) By January 1, 2009, the department, in consultation with
Washington State University, shall identify and make publicly available
a web directory of public facilities that provide community technology
programs throughout the state. (2) For the purposes of this section, "community technology
program" has the same meaning as in section 7 of this act.

NEW SECTION.Sec. 6 The community technology opportunity program
is created to support the efforts of community technology programs
throughout the state. The community technology opportunity program
must be administered by the Washington State University extension, in
consultation with the department of information services. The
Washington State University extension may contract for services in
order to carry out the extension's obligations under this section. (1) In implementing the community technology opportunity program
the administrator must, to the extent funds are appropriated for this
purpose: (a) Provide organizational and capacity building support to
community technology programs throughout the state, and identify and
facilitate the availability of other public and private sources of
funds to enhance the purposes of the program and the work of community
technology programs. No more than fifteen percent of funds received by
the administrator for the program may be expended on these functions; (b) Establish a competitive grant program and provide grants to
community technology programs to provide training and skill-building
opportunities; access to hardware and software; internet connectivity;
assistance in the adoption of information and communication
technologies in low-income and underserved areas of the state; and
development of locally relevant content and delivery of vital services
through technology. (2) Grant applicants must: (a) Provide evidence that the applicant is a nonprofit entity or a
public entity that is working in partnership with a nonprofit entity; (b) Define the geographic area or population to be served; (c) Include in the application the results of a needs assessment
addressing, in the geographic area or among the population to be
served: The impact of inadequacies in technology access or knowledge,
barriers faced, and services needed; (d) Explain in detail the strategy for addressing the needs
identified and an implementation plan including objectives, tasks, and
benchmarks for the applicant and the role that other organizations will
play in assisting the applicant's efforts; (e) Provide evidence of matching funds and resources, which are
equivalent to at least one-quarter of the grant amount committed to the
applicant's strategy; (f) Provide evidence that funds applied for, if received, will be
used to provide effective delivery of community technology services in
alignment with the goals of this program and to increase the
applicant's level of effort beyond the current level; and (g) Comply with such other requirements as the administrator
establishes. (3) The administrator may use no more than ten percent of funds
received for the community technology opportunity program to cover
administrative expenses. (4) The administrator must establish expected program outcomes for
each grant recipient and must require grant recipients to provide an
annual accounting of program outcomes.

NEW SECTION.Sec. 7 The definitions in this section apply
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise. (1) "Administrator" means the community technology opportunity
program administrator designated by the Washington State University
extension. (2) "Community technology program" means a program, including a
digital inclusion program, engaged in diffusing information and
communications technology in local communities, particularly in
underserved areas. These programs may include, but are not limited to,
programs that provide education and skill-building opportunities,
hardware and software, internet connectivity, and development of
locally relevant content and delivery of vital services through
technology.

NEW SECTION.Sec. 8 The Washington community technology
opportunity account is established in the state treasury. Donated
funds from private and public sources may be deposited into the
account. Expenditures from the account may be used only for the
operation of the community technology opportunity program as provided
in section 6 of this act. Only the administrator or the
administrator's designee may authorize expenditures from the account.

NEW SECTION.Sec. 9 Sections 6 through 8 of this act constitute
a new chapter in Title 28B RCW.

NEW SECTION.Sec. 10 If sections 1 through 5 of this act become
null and void, the department of information services shall include
high-speed internet adoption and deployment in its 2009-2011 strategic
plan.

NEW SECTION.Sec. 11 If specific funding for the purposes of
sections 1 through 5 of this act, referencing sections 1 through 5 of
this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 2008,
in the omnibus appropriations act, sections 1 through 5 of this act are
null and void.